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Note from Keith & Nicole

Posted on: February 21, 2023, in Latest News

Happy, Happy New Year to you all and we hope that it will be a healthy and peaceful one.

Christmas and New Year came and went so quickly but what an incredible time we all had at Umngazi. The hotel was busy and it was as always so wonderful to welcome back the regulars and introduce the newbies to our piece of paradise.

Christmas in Alice’s Wonderland was delightful and guests donned their Mad Hatter Christmas hats with much glee and it was decided that we were all slightly mad anyway.

New Year was spectacular, Atlantis Rising allowed us to dress up as Neptune and Mermaids and have fun. The dining room was magically transformed into a smack of jelly fish together with upcycled coral reefs and fish, the bar deck was our kelp forest and somewhere the Lost City of Atlantis was found.

New Year’s day float was loads of fun and the perfect way to slowly ease into 2023. Miraculously, the water in the river cleared and was beautiful and blue and one still managed another cold beer while floating along.

I love this word WONDERLUST and one sees it being used more and more. It is literally a longing or a strong desire to wander and travel. Umngazi is such a wonderful place to wanderlust at (maybe we can start a new word and call ourselves Wanderlusters) Watching our guests arrive and a few days later looking totally relaxed, sun kissed and almost hypnotic is for us such a compliment. Marveling in the pristine surroundings, the tranquil and idyllic days just set the mood for a perfect holiday where one does not need to think of too much besides eating, sleeping and wandering when the need arises.

The river mouth is still open. Every now and then it teases us and we think it is going to close but it doesn’t and the river itself is so healthy and teaming with fish, birds and water monitors. A gentle paddle up the river in a canoe is a wonderful way to spend a lazy afternoon. We had some incredible rains in January and this flushed the river out. The fishing has been great this summer, with a couple of large fish being caught and released.

We had a bittersweet farewell for Nico. Bitter in that we know he is going to be missed by all of us but sweet because we are also excited for him starting this new chapter in his life. He has moved to Makanda to be with his partner, Nicola, where he will be setting up his own business. He has promised us he will visit and that it was not a goodbye but a so long for now.

Hopefully this year does not fly by as fast as last year did. We promise to try and slow it down for you all when you visit us.

All our love

Keith and Nicole

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